Package for rolls and the like



LE ROY w. STAUNTON ETAL 2,454,352

PACKAGE FOR ROLLS AND THE LIKE med March 29, 1946 Patented Nov. 23, 1948 Le Roy W. Staunton, Evanston, and Ralph L. Atkinson, Hinsdale, Ill., assignors to United Wallpaper, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application March 29, 1946, Serial No. 658,016

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved package for rolled paper material, which is particularly adapted for use with wallpaper rolls and the like. 1

This invention relates particularly to a package which may be used for wallpaper and which will permit a plurality of rolls to be sold together as a unit, and at the same time will permit the rolls, when rolled with the decorative pattern on the exterior of the rolls, to be readily viewed by the purchaser and the character of their pattern to be readily determined and appraised.

Until recent years, all wallpaper has been rolled with the decorative surface on the inside so that the pattern on the paper was not visible to a customer except when a portion of the paper was unrolled from the roll. As a result, the established methods of displaying and selling wallpaper have involved the use of large books containing samples of wallpaper, fromwhich patterns preferred by the customer could be selected. The use of these books has required a substantial amount of display space which has been costly to provide and maintain. Such use also has involved considerable time and effort on the part of the seller and th customer in the makin of suitable selections of wallpaper. In addition, customers frequently prefer to see the actual rolls of paper after making their selection, whereupon it becomes necessary to produce the selected rolls, unroll and handle them, and thus subject them to damage and soiling. On account of these pre vailing methods, many stores which are potential retail outlets for wallpaper have been unwilling or unable to devote the time and space necessary for the sale of wallpaper.

Accordingly, the present invention is designed to provide a package which accommodates rolls of paper, such as wallpaper, which when rolled withthe pattern side outwardly, are presented to the customer as a unit package with their patterned surfaces readily visible over a sufilcient area to represent a reliable sample of the entire pasted wallpaper which is prepared in rolled form with a suitable retacking adhesive provided on its inner surface. In use, th adhesive surface may be moistened by submerging the roll or by other method so that the paper may be prepared and applied to the wall or ceiling without requiring the application of an adhesive thereto. Wallpaper of the type referred to is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,383,637, and one method of moistening and applying the same is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,347,865.

In addition to the foregoing, it is often desirable to deliver to the purchaser of each roll of wallpaper, a predetermined quantity of a trimming strip or border material, which has a decorative surface therein of suitable design and appearance and character to be used with the particular pattern of wallpaper with which it is sold. Heretoiore it has been the practice to supply such rolls in cardboard boxes and to supply therewith, by inserting the same in such boxes, the prescribed amount of border material to be used with each roll. When supplied in this form, the merchandise is not visible to the purchaser and leads prospective customers to open packages and remove the wallpaper, thereby destroying boxes and damaging the merchandise.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and-improved package for rolls of the character described, which may or may not be prepasted but which in any event are sold in conjunction with a predetermined amount of border material to be used therewith. It is customary in packages of this kind to include a length of wallpaper substantially in excess of the length of border to be sold and used therewith. For instance, one popular length for the wallpaper in a single roll is 81 feet which, when prepared in the conventional way, provides a roll having an external. diameter of approximately 3 inches. With a roll of this character it is also customary to provide a length of border material of approximately 21 feet.

It is a further object of this invention to pro-- vide an improved package of wallpaper and border material which includes in its construction a protective wrapping of transparent material, such as a prepared cellulose film of regenerated cellulose or cellulose acetate or like materials, whereby the paper rolls which are formed with their decorative patterns on the outside are clearly visible to th purchaser and at the same time the exterior surface or surfaces of the associated border material is likewise visible.

vide, when desired, means constituting an end wall against which the end folds of wrapping material may be pressed in a manner to complete the package with the greatest facility'a'nd in the shortest possible time.

A further object of this invention is to provide additional space Within the package which may or may not be visible, in which instruction sheets or other literature may be enclosed within the confines of the package without rendering the same unsightly or bulky.

A further object of 'thisinvention is to provide adequate means within the package on which may be placed printed material, such as the name of the product and the manufacturer, the makers trade-mark, grade marks, and like informative data.

These and other objects not specifically enumerated are contermclated for this invention as will readily appear to one skilled in the art as the following description proceeds.

The following description "makes reference to the accompanying drawing, which illustr-atesone embodiment of the invention. The example set forth in the drawing and specification is not to b a-regarded as limiting the invention in'any respect, as the scope of the 'inve'ntlon'is to'be determined from the appended claims, when given the broadest possible interpretation permitted by the prior art.

"In the drawing;

Figure 1 "is a perspective View of a package formed in accordance with this invention; and

Figure 2 'is a cross sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l and looking in "the direction of the arrows.

In producing the package of 'thisfinvention, a plurality of rolls ID of paper or like materia such as Wallpaper, is provided in rolled form of conventional diameter. A plurality of smaller rolls 13 of border material, placed end "to end so as to form continuous cylindrical members of smaller diameter than the wallpaper rolls, is also provided. Both the rolls of wallpaper and of border material have the pattern or decorative side on the outside of the rolls.

The rolls of Wallpaper, which may be of any suitable number, but which are here shown as three in number, in combination with the enmdrical members of border material described above, which may also be of any-suitable number but only one being shown here, are placed side by side with their axes parallel, and are mounted in a tray 62 which may be of cardboard or other suitable inexpensive material. The tray is of sufficient width to exactly accommodate the plurality of both types of rolls employed 'in the package, and of a length which snuglyiits the rolls, as by having end walls embracing the ends of the rolls. The height of the tray is so selected that the edges thereof extend slightly above the centralline of the Wallpaper rolls, whereby both the wallpaper and "rolls of border material are adequately embraced and held in association with each other, y

In Figure 1 there is illustrated a number of border rolls placed end to end to form a continuous cylinder as described above. This cylinder is disposed between two of the Wallpaper rolls and the bottom of the tray. The cylinder is of a diameter smaller than the wallpaper rolls, but sufliciently large to keep the two Wallpaper rolls well separated, as shown in Figure 2.

In many instances it will be sufiicient to provide only one such cylinder of border material, as is shown. However, additional cylinders may be included in the same manner between other pairs of wallpaper rolls, and may also be placed between the long sides of the tray and the rolls of wallpaper nearest to those sides.

With the wallpaper rolls and the border rolls assembled in the tray I! in the proper association described, the entire assembly is then wrapped in a suitable wrapping material I of transparent cellulosic material which preferably extends down underneath the tray and is secured therebe'neath by adhesion. If desired, the closin'g film may overlie the edges of the tray and be secured to the tray,'or the material may be of suiiicient length to overlie the entire bottom of the tray so as to form a 'cellulosic wrapper entirely enclosing the wallpaper and the tray as a unit.

As shown in Figure 1, the marking l6 on the wrapper rolls represents the figures constituting the decorative pattern on the Wallpaper rolls, whereas the marking i! on the rolls of border material l3 illustrates the figures constituting the decorative material on the border strips.

Due to the fact thatthe outside wrapping is of transparent cellulosic material, the decorative patterns on the wallpaper are clearly visible to the purchaser, while at the same time the patterns on the associated borders are likewise visible and are displayed in association with the wallpaper with which it is to be used.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that this type of package is particularly useful in connection with the display and'sale of a plurality of rolls of wallpaper and border mate'- rial to be sold as a unit, which can be displayed for quick visual inspection by the customer and at the same time can be maintained in a wrapped condition, free from soil and damage during handling and inspection.

What is claimed is:

1. A package of the character described, com prising a plurality of cylindrical rolls of wallpaper and border material 'said rolls formed of wallpaper being of equal length and said rolls formed of border material having a length which is an aliquot part of the length of said wallpaper rolls, said rolls of border material being longitudinally aligned to form at least one row of rolls'of border material of substantially the same length as each of said wallpaper rolls, said rolls of wallpaper 'and border material being disposed side by side and lying on a common plane, a tray associated 'with said rolls for holding same, having width and length dimensions providing a snug fit for said rolls collectively while the same are disposed in said tray in the manner described, said tray having a height less than the diameter'of said wallpaper rolls, whereby portions of said rolls of wallpaper and border material are left uncovered by s'aidtray, and a transparent wrapper for'said rolls and tray assembly, associated with the same and holding said rolls againstaccidental displacement with respect to said tray.

2. A package of the character described, comprising -a plurality of rolls of wallpaper 'and'border material having their decorative surfaces on the outside thereof, said rolls formed of wallpaper being of equal length and said rolls formed of border material having a length which is an aliquot part of the length of said wallpaper rolls, said rolls of border material being longitudinally aligned to form at least one row of rolls of border material, which row is of substantially the same length as each of said wallpaper rolls, said rolls of wallpaper and border material being disposed side by side and lying on a common plane, a tray associated with said rolls for holding same, having width and length dimensions providing a snug fit for said rolls collectively, while the same are disposed in said tray in the manner described, said tray having a height less than the diameter of said wallpaper rolls, whereby portions of said rolls of wallpaper and border material are left uncovered by said tray, and a transparent wrapper for said rolls and tray assembly, associated with the same and holding said rolls against accidental displacement with respect to said tray.

3. A package of the character described, comprising a plurality of cylindrical rolls of Wallpaper lying on a common plane with their axes parallel, a row of longitudinally aligned rolls of border material disposed between two of said rolls of wallpaper and lying on said common plane with its axis parallel to the axes of said wallpaper rolls, a tray associated with said rolls for holding same, having width and length dimensions providing a snug fit for said rolls collectively, while the same are disposed in said tray in the manner described,

said tray having a height less than the diameterof said wallpaper rolls, whereby portions of said rolls of wallpaper and border material are left uncovered by said tray, and a transparent wrapper for said rolls and tray assembly, associated with the same and holding said rolls against accidental displacement with respect to said tray.

4. A package of the character described, com prising a plurality of cylindrical rolls of wallpaper lying on a common plane with their axes parallel, a row of longitudinally aligned rolls of border ma terial disposed between two of said rolls of wallpaper and lying on said common plane with its axis parallel to the axes of said wallpaper rolls, said rolls of border material being of smaller diameter than said rolls of Wallpaper, but of a diameter sufficiently large to keep said wallpaper rolls separated, a tray associated with said rolls for holding same, having width and length dimensions providing a snug fit for said rolls collectively while the same are disposed in said tray in the manner described, said tray having a height less than the diameter of said wallpaper rolls, whereby portions of said rolls of wallpaper and border material are left uncovered by said tray, and a transparent wrapper for said rolls and tray assembly, associated with the same and holding said rolls against accidental displacement with respect to said tray.

5. A package of the character described, comprising a plurality of cylindrical rolls of wallpaper of substantially equal diameter and length and a plurality of cylindrical rolls of border material of a lesser diameter and length, said rolls of border material being longitudinally aligned to form at least one row of rolls of border material of substantially the same length as said rolls of wallpaper, disposed between two of said wallpaper rolls, a tray associated with said rolls for holding same, having width and length dimensions providing a snug fit for said rolls collectively while the same are disposed in said tray in the manner described, and a transparent wrapper for said rolls and tray, associated with the same and holding said rolls against accidental displacement with respect to said tray.

6. A package of the character described, comprising a plurality of cylindrical objects of two different diameters and lengths, all objects of the same diameter being of equal length and the objects having the smaller diameter being of a length which is an aliquot part of the length of the objects having the larger diameter, all said objects lying on a common plane disposed side by side with adjacent objects in contact with each other, said objects having the smaller diameter being longitudinally aligned to form at least one row of such objects of substantially the same length as each of said objects having the larger diameter, a tray associated with said objects for holding same, having width and length dimensions providing a snug fit for said objects collectively while the same are disposed in said tray in the manner described, said tray having a height less than the diameter of said objects, whereby portions of said objects are left uncovered by said tray, and a transparent wrapper for said objects and tray assembly, associated with the same and holding said objects against accidental displacement with respect to said tray.

' LE ROY W. STAUNTON.

RALPH L. ATKINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 55 1,602,254 Schindler Oct. 5, 1926 1,986,234 Weiner Jan, 1, 1935 D. 99,326 Hauswald Apr. 14, 1936 

